Photo by Michael Woodward
CLOSED: The Old Town Eatery closed Monday, March 2 after 13 years of business.
After developing a reputation as the premiere place to eat in Cottonwood, Old Town Eatery co-owner and chef Jim Thompson told his employees about the restaurant's closure at 8 p.m. Monday. After 13 years, Thompson said he and wife Dawn Thompson "decided to cut our losses. The numbers weren't meshing anymore.
"I couldn't see working 80 hours a week and not making a profit," Thompson said. "Every year we've had an increase in sales until two years ago, and in the last ten months, we've seen a steep decline in sales."
The restaurant, located at 20828 Front St., employed 18 people.
"We had a lot of construction workers and contractors eat there," Thompson said. "When the housing crunch hit, they stopped eating there. The regular clientele shrunk too."
"I want to see that restaurant reopen. It was very valuable to the area," said Judith Klages, owner of Country Lane, a year-round Christmas decor boutique also on Front Street. "It's a loss of foot traffic for us. People came from all over to eat there."
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 1
rdofan writes:
Jim and Donna, you will be greatly missed! Hope that at some point, you can re-open the business!
J, when you were at chevy's you were one of the funnest bosses in the place, right down to your funky colored pants and cooking "Breake" for everyone! Good luck to you both!
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